Re: Display Twitches/NVIDIA Kernel Mode Crash

‎06-01-201110:42 PM

@There1,

Im the owner of a T510 with the same specs (except the full hd monitor), and can confirm problem #2. This situation has been on and off in the graphic drivers Lenovo provide, so we have to wait for a new version that is stable again. Dont upgrade to the current version they have released, because of this bug:

Or you could try, maybe u dont have this bug because of your other monitor? Mine is a 1600x900 (HD+) monitor. Im sure JameZ wouldn't mind feedback on that part :-)

Regarding problem #1 - I have not seen this, and Im a user of justin.tv too.

Where to begin troubleshooting on this problem is really hard to help with, since it really can be anything - maybe a specific codec u got installed lately (you mention it didnt happen in the beginning). I dont know if you have access to an installation DVD of a clean Windows 7, but I personally have a dual boot system where my main Windows 7 resides with all programs and such, and a Windows 7 test installation where I can test for issues with a perfectly clean installation. This is a great tool for troubleshooting where problems can be traced back to.

Re: Display Twitches/NVIDIA Kernel Mode Crash

‎06-02-201106:16 AM - edited ‎06-02-201106:59 AM

Thanks for the help.

As far as the graphics driver goes, I've been waiting for a driver update from 257.38 for quite some time. It finnaly arrived and thought it would fix the problem and it sure didn't (270.61). Still have both problems :-/ BTW it's not just Justin.tv, it's any video. It rarely happens when I have just one video running but it always happens, always when i have 2 or more videos running at the same time.

Unfortunately I don't have an installation CD of Windows. I will for sure do the dual boot like you mentioned whenever I end up getting one.

I'm going to read that thread and see what's that about.

I haven't called technical support yet. Do you think they cold help?

UPDATE: I read the thread about the new driver update for the T410 and I agree with what you said. I don't have that problem most likely because I have a T510 with a higher resoluition display.

Re: Display Twitches/NVIDIA Kernel Mode Crash

‎08-04-201105:47 AM - edited ‎08-04-201106:14 AM

(Edit 2: This is about problem #1, see bottom for #2.)

Yes! I also have this problem on my T410, and this is the first time I've heard about someone else having it! I've been trying every new Flash-release and video-drivers since I got the T410 right after it's release, but nothing has fixed it.

What I've found is that the problem is related to Flash's hardware acceleration. You can disable it and the twitches/flickers disappears, but then you run other problems related to video-resizing when viewing videos in fullscreen among other things. So it's not a proper solution.

The fact that is fixes it does pinpoint the problem though.

The issue is also not present in Flash 9, only Flash 10 and later as that's when they implemented proper hardware acceleration.

I have talked with one other person with a similar problem on a Dell laptop with the same graphics card. For him the issue was only in fullscreen and it also happend quite a lot more frequently. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc5ZD-Pj1Hw

For me it happens regardless of fullscreen or not.

I did report this issue to Adobe on their bug-tracking-system where it was marked as being looked at, but a few days ago I got an email saying they've switched tracking-system so I would have to re-report it if it's still an issue. I haven't bothered to do so yet.

I haven't bothered to contact Lenovo about this partly because I can't be sure it's an hardware-issue and not just Flash's fault. It really streange how no-one else have experienced this though, so maybe I should -- especially now that I know it's not just me

It's a bit tricky though because it can be difficult to explain and also to reproduce on-demand. The frequency of the flickers seems to depend on the different flash-video-player-implementation as with some I rarely have problems, while with others it starts happening immediatly.

Having multiple streams playing at the same time seems to be the easiest way to trigger it though.

Specs:

T410 (2522-2WG)

Intel Core i7 M 620 (same as OP)

Win7 Pro 64bit (Same as OP, but I have tried 32bit and the issue is there as well.)

When testing new drivers I've always reinstalled Windows first to eliminate any potential issues.

The fact that so few people are experiencing this seems to indicate it is a hardware-problem with the NVS 3100M. I would love it if someone from Lenovo could post here and share their thoughts on this, and on if it this sounds like something I could try to get fixed through getting the 3100M replaced. Nothing else has worked.

Still, it should be said, the reason I haven't bothered to really do something about this yet is because it's NOT a huge problem. I can live with flickers a few times a minute sometimes, and if they should turn out really annoying I can just disable HA. I've had no other problems with the card in terms of graphics performance or video playback besides with Flash -- which again would suggest it's Flash's fault, but they again why isn't the problem more widespread? I can't imagine someone watching online videos on a T410 over a period of time not experiencing it, which is why think it must be a small hardware-issue only affecting a few people. Which is something I'd like fixed. It's basically the only problem I have with the T410.

(On that note -- "only problem with the T410" -- I am as of right now never going to by a Lenovo laptop ever again. Why? Because I'm sick and tired of waiting for them to release new versions of drivers. Up until a few weeks ago, the Lenovo Nvidia-driver was over 8 months old. That's 8 months I've been waiting for a new version (you can't use the official reference drivers) which I was hoping could fix the problem. And then it comes and it doesn't fix it. AARRRRGGGHHH. Never again. If you force your customers to use you versions of drivers, you're obligated to keep them up to date. Not just for potential fixes, but also for the performance enhancments they often provide. This is a general problem with laptop-video-drivers, so using another manufacturer might not help but I'm sure as hell going to try. 8 months!)

(Edit 3: Whoops, as someone who check's my post-history whould see -- it's not actually the only problem I've had. There's also the mono/stereo-sound-issue, but I totally forgot because I actually found a fix for it pretty fast. Still funny how it hasn't been fixed in the driver yet though, on still has to do the "hack". I've just learned to do it first thing after installing the driver so it's no problem.)

Edit 1: Regarding problem #2, I actually recently had A LOT of kernel mode crashes for some reason. What I did though was to reinstall Windows but not install anything beside the essential drivers (chipset, video, WLAN, LAN). Not had any crashes yet, but that really doesn't say anything. If there's a wish for it I could install everything and see if it starts happening again.

I can wholehartedly recommend not installing anything you don't need though (though, mainly if you're using the laptop as a stationary pc as I am right now. I'm sure I might miss the powermanager if I was running on battery for instance). It's nice not having 90+ total processess running for a change, with Lenovo-stuff being maybe 20-30 of them. And that's with avoiding installing things like the toolbox etc. -- only actually useful drivers/programs like camera, hotkey, powermanager, ultranav etc.

Re: Display Twitches/NVIDIA Kernel Mode Crash

‎08-04-201111:48 PM

@There1,

You mentioned that when you first got the laptop it was fine without any flicker, did you change anything after that? additional software installed? Flash player or browser updated? Also is the laptop hot when viewing more videos?

Regarding the whine issue, you would need to contact support and they will look into this issue, check KB below.

Re: Display Twitches/NVIDIA Kernel Mode Crash

‎08-05-201101:22 AM - edited ‎08-05-201101:29 AM

@JameZThere1 would have to confirm, but it probably started happening after upgrading Flash to version 10.1+. I got my T410 in January 2010, which is a few months before the release of Flash 10.1 (June 2010), but I can't remember when the issue first appeared so I'm no help there. Using Flash 9 instead of 10.1 does as mentioned fix it (since it doesn't do hardware-accelerated video-decoding), so it seems logical.

If you want to confirm this, download "Flash Player 9.0.280 and higher (21.8 MB)" from http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/142/tn_14266.html, extract, and install "flashplayer9r280_win.exe". (I'm assuming you're using Chrome here btw.) Then go to "about: plugins" (remove the space, had to insert it to avoid getting a smiley) in Chrome (restart Chrome after installing Flash) and click "+ Details" and disable "Shockwave Flash 10.3 r181" (the newest) under Flash and instead enable "Shockwave Flash 9.0 r280". Restart Chrome after changing the Flash version to be sure it takes effect. You can rightclick the video to see what version of Flash is running. (You'll also know since Chrome warns that you're using an outdated version.)

After confirming it works, you should re-enable the latest version so you don't fall victim to any Flash 9-exploits while surfing.

@There1I haven't contacted support yet, but as I turned on the T410 today I got a "Fan Error" so I'm going to do so next week to get that fixed and then mention this aswell. Pretty good timing since your video will come in handy explaining it and also demonstrate it's not an isolated problem.